Program Overview

Public relations professionals work to establish and maintain mutually beneficial relationships between an organization/client and its constituents. They work in a variety of settings: corporate, small business, government, and political campaigns, nonprofit organizations, agencies and PR counseling firms. Drake PR students exercise the research, planning and communication skills they are developing as they work with “real world” clients in each of their PR classes.

Accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Drake is among 115 accredited programs worldwide. To earn accreditation, schools meet 9 standards, which address such issues as class size, diversity, student services and curriculum. Accreditation reviews occur every 6 years. Drake’s program has been continuously accredited, most recently in 2016.

Degree Requirements

• Meet all requirements of the Drake Curriculum
• Maintain a 2.0 grade point average during the first 30 credit hours
• Maintain a 2.25 grade point average at Drake after the 30th credit hour
• Maintain a 2.25 grade point average in SJMC course work after the 30th credit hour

Students should work with their advisers to ensure selection of courses best-suited to their educational and career objectives.  Please see Graduation Requirements and Regulations sections of the catalog for additional information.

Public Relations Major Requirements

• All Public Relations courses are sequential and must be completed prior to moving along in the curriculum. Some allowances have been made on a case-by-case basis for transfer students and others changing majors.
• Graduating early is a possibility, but students must plan for a year-long capstone beginning in the fall semester.
• Internship experiences may be available for up to a total of six credit hours throughout the entirety of the undergraduate experience, and they must be pre-approved by a Public Relations faculty member.
• It is possible to study abroad as a Public Relations major, but students may not do so while they are completing their capstone.

Required courses for the Public Relations major are as follows:

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
School of Journalism and Mass Communication Core Courses
JMC 030	MASS MEDIA IN A GLOBAL SOCIETY	3
JMC 031	MULTIMEDIA LAB	1
JMC 040	PRE-PROFESSIONAL WORKSHOP	1
JMC 041	FINANCE FUNDAMENTALS FOR COMMUNICATION PROFESSIONALS	1
JMC 054	REPORTING AND WRITING PRINCIPLES	3
JMC 055	DIGITAL MEDIA STRATEGIES	3
JMC 104	COMMUNICATION LAW AND ETHICS	3
Area of Concentration
All SJMC majors must complete a 21-credit block of courses not offered within the SJMC. 1		21
Public Relations Major Courses
ECON 002	PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS	3
JMC 058	FOUNDATIONS OF VISUAL COMMUNICATION	3
JMC 085	PUBLIC RELATIONS PRINCIPLES	3
JMC 123	PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITING	3
JMC 136	PUBLIC RELATIONS RESEARCH	3
JMC 143	PUBLIC RELATIONS PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT	3
JMC 144	CASES IN ETHICAL PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTICE	3
JMC 146	PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN STRATEGY	3
JMC Electives		9
MKTG 101	MARKETING PRINCIPLES	3
MGMT 110	ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR	3
PSY 001	INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY	4
JMC Total Credit Hours		44
Total Hours		123

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This block must be approved by the student's adviser and dean. At least 12 of these credits must be in courses numbered 100 or higher. Courses taken to satisfy requirements in other areas may also count toward this requirement.

In addition to programmatic requirements, students are responsible for satisfying all requirements of the Drake Curriculum, including Areas of Inquiry (AOI)

Student must also satisfy university graduation requirements for all undergraduate students..